They're pretty small--about an inch long--but they hold more than the description sounds like. I have fine hair, but it's thick, and I can clip back enough hair to keep it from flopping in my face, and because they're so small they don't disrupt curls. What I usually do is take a piece of hair at the front and a bit underneath and pull that back and clip, so that it holds back the rest of the hair that wants to flop over, if that makes sense.